Monday, September 28, 2009

I imagine that only the English majors reading this have heard of someone named Vachel Lindsay ... but back in the 1910s he was one of America's best-known poets. He was as much a troubadour as anything, really, wandering the country and reading his poems aloud to eager audiences.

In the early 1920s Lindsay and a friend paid a visit to Glacier Park. He fell in love with the place instantly, of course, and the result was a 1923 volume of poetry and art called Going-to-the-Sun. Lindsay decided that he liked this part of the world so much that he moved into the Davenport Hotel in Spokane the next year, and a sequel called Going-to-the-Stars was published in 1926. The books weren't well-received, though ... the American public had apparently decided that Lindsay's style had become passé. He ended it all in 1931 by drinking a bottle of Lysol.

Here's a sample poem from Going-to-the-Sun, titled "The Bird Called Curiosity":

Round the mountain peak called "Going-to-the-Sun,"In Glacier Park, a steep and soaring one,Circled a curious bird with pointed noseWho led us on to every cave, and roseAnd swept through every cloud, then brought us berries,And all the acid gifts the mountain carries,And let us guess which ones were good to eat.And even when we slept his sharp wings beatThe weary fire, or shook the tree-top cones,Or rattled dead twigs like a fairy's bones.The vulgar bird, "Curiosity"! When weWere tired, and lean, and shaking at the knee,We put this bird in harness. He was strongAs any ostrich, pulled our packs along,Helped us up over the next annoying wall,And dragged us to the chalet, and the tourists' resting hall.

And when once more we were young, well-fed men,He'd beat the door to call us forth again.

About Me

I'm a professional historian, though my real passions lie in the art of photography and the freedom of travel. Armed with camera and backpack, I've visited all fifty of the US states ... and a total of 65 countries on six continents.

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Unless otherwise attributed, all text and contemporary photographs in this blog are copyrighted by the author, Mark Hufstetler. Reproduction or reuse -- either online or in print -- without written permission from the author is expressly prohibited. You're welcome to contact me for information on obtaining reprints.